Maybe you received a new iPhone under the Christmas tree, which is better than the iPhone 8 you were still using, or your girlfriend wanted you to start your year off right with a refurbished iPhone SE. Once you have your ‘new’ device at home, the question is always: what do you do with the old one? There are many options: we will mention a few.
Give him a second life
Many people think that they still need their old telephone as a backup, but that is certainly no longer necessary given the current state of telephones. You can often get quite a bit of money for it and if you really need to, you can buy an ‘intermediate phone’ for a fairly low amount, if your new device breaks down at some point. Moreover, telephones are becoming increasingly easier to fix yourself, especially in accordance with the new legislation and regulations from the EU. So get rid of all those phones that are collecting dust while you can receive cash for them.
Keep it on for another month
It may be contradictory to throwing it away, but first of all, we advise you not to throw it out immediately, mainly because of things like two-factor authentication. You will always see that you delete your cookies at some point because your PC becomes slower, and when you log in you need a two-factor code that was still in an authenticator on that device. So make sure you first avoid that situation and keep the device at hand for another month. If you are sure that you are completely done with it, give it a factory reset so that the next user does not get your data and can set the device as if it were as good as new. If you send your device to a refurbisher (more about that later), you will receive, for example at Swappie a step-by-step plan of what you need to do to sell your device to them. Restoring to factory settings is also important. Keep your device on for the data you need for a while, but as soon as you are done with it, delete all that data.
Do something for the environment
Of course, you can’t throw your old device in the trash. You should never do that with electronics. Did you know that keeping and using old phones is a huge benefit because it reduces the amount of electronic waste? The 85 kilograms of emissions that a new smartphone generates in its first year are particularly harmful. So how good is it if you ensure that your phone saves someone from buying a new device? The production process of smartphones in particular produces a lot of emissions, so the longer a phone is used, the fewer new phones need to be made.
Give it a second life
But what do you do with old electronics? Three things: you give it a second life, you help a good cause or you take it to the recycling center. All three of these options allow you to do something for the environment, because the sources can be reused. Such a second life could be, for example: with your grandmother, who doesn’t care much about telephones and doesn’t need the latest.
Support the good cause
Or you give it to a charity, which resells the phone and uses the money to help animals, such as the Monkey Foundation. The advantage is that the device often goes to second-hand shops or reburbishment companies, for example, and they ensure that the device gets a second life. This way the charity earns money for the animals, but you also help to save the environment a little.
Send it in to be refurbished
To the recycling center, that’s very nice, but actually a shame. Firstly, you don’t know what will happen to it, while it may still have a nice second life. And that doesn’t have to be with your grandmother, it can also be done in a way that allows you to earn something yourself. Contact a refurbished supplier to see what you can do with your old one iPhone can do. They usually let you send the device and then assess how much you will get for it (although you can often get an indication in advance). The process is very easy and requires little work. This way you can quickly hear what they think of the condition of your device and, above all, what you get for it.
Make money with it
So you can make money with your old phone. Maybe it is a few tens of euros, but it can sometimes even be a few hundred euros, if you have a somewhat new device that is also in good condition. Something that you will immediately see at Swappie. Because after completing a short questionnaire you will see an estimated price for your device. Especially after the holidays, which are always on the expensive side, you could probably use some extra pocket money. And how nice is it that your device is also pampered so that it can possibly last for years to come? You can also put the money in a savings account for your next device.
So: are you going to contribute to a greener world? Trading in your old phone is an important step in that process. Your ecological footprint is significantly reduced and you see: you can make people, animals and the environment happy with it.
